Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 December 2021 | 13(14): 20278–20283
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7498.13.14.20278-20283
#7498 | Received 06 June 2021 | Final
received 18 October 2021 | Finally accepted 21 November 2021
Photographic record of Dholes
predating on a young Banteng in southwestern Java, Indonesia
Dede Aulia
Rahman 1, Mochamad Syamsudin
2, Asep Yayus Firdaus
3, Herry Trisna Afriandi 4 & Anggodo
5
1 Department of Forest Resources
Conservation and Ecotourism, Faculty of Forestry, IPB University (Bogor
Agricultural University), Kampus IPB Darmaga Bogor 16680 Indonesia.
2,3,4,5 Ujung Kulon
National Park, Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan
No.51, Labuan, Pandeglang 42264 Banten, Indonesia.
1 dede.auliarahman@gmail.com
(corresponding author), 2 mochamadsyamsudin32@gmail.com, 2 f.yayus@gmail.com,
4 herrytrisna20@gmail.com, 5 anggodo.ksdae@gmail.com
Editor: Honnavalli N. Kumara,
Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore, India. Date
of publication: 26 December 2021 (online & print)
Citation: Rahman, D.A., M. Syamsudin, A.Y. Firdaus, H.T. Afriandi
& Anggodo (2021). Photographic record of Dholes
predating on a young Banteng in southwestern Java, Indonesia. Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(14): 20278–20283. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7498.13.14.20278-20283
Copyright: © Rahman et al. 2021. Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: This research received
no specific grant from any funding
agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: We thank the Rhino Monitoring
Unit (RMU) team in UKNP, who contributed to data collection. We thank the
Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry and the Head of Ujung Kulon National Park to facilitate and granting permission
to conduct the field surveys. We also thank two referees who stayed anonymously
for their constructive comments and suggestions to improve the manuscript.
Abstract: A long-term camera-trap study of
the Javan Rhinoceros in 2013 in Ujung Kulon National
Park (UKNP), Indonesia, allowed us to document the first photographic evidence
of Dholes preying on a young Banteng and other species. Our photographs
suggested that Dholes get in large packs to predate on Banteng and commonly
separate young from adults when attacking the young. Future research should
examine the Dhole diet and interspecific relationships between Dhole and Banteng to gain a better understanding of the
ecological impacts of endangered predators on endangered prey in UKNP.
Keywords: Bos javanicus,
camera trap, Cuon alpinus,
ecological impacts, Indonesia, interspecific relationships, predation.
Historically, Dholes Cuon alpinus
occurred throughout southern Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and
Pakistan), eastern Asia (China, Korean Peninsula, Russian Far East), and southeastern Asia (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Thailand, Viet Nam, and Indonesia), and as far west as the mountains ranging
from eastern Kazakhstan to northern Pakistan (Heptner
& Naumov 1967). Recently, most of the Dhole’s
population has been fragmented and continues to decline (they now occur in
<25% of their historical range) and therefore the species is categorized as
‘Endangered’ by the IUCN Red List (Kamler et al.
2015). In Indonesia, historically, Dholes occurred throughout both Sumatra and
Java; however, their current distribution on both islands has contracted
considerably during the past 30 years; consequently, the species is protected
by Indonesian law (Regulation of the Minister of Environment and Forestry of
the Republic of Indonesia No. P.106/MENLHK/SETJEN/KUM.1/12/2018; Indonesian
Ministry of Environment and Forestry 2018).
Despite their endangered status
and widespread distribution, there is still relatively little known about the
ecology of Dholes in Indonesia. For example, there have been only nine studies
that determined the daily behavior and feeding habits
of Dholes in Indonesia (Pudyatmoko et al. 2007; Nurvianto et al. 2015, 2016; Pudyatmoko
2017, 2018; Rahman et al. 2018, 2019; Rahman & Mardiastuti
2021). Some of these studies have described potential prey for Dholes in two
protected areas (Baluran National Park and Ujung Kulon National Park), but evidence of predation behaviour
through direct observation or camera footage has not been reported. Our study
is the first to document predation activity by Dholes on a large-sized ungulate
species, the Banteng Bos javanicus in Ujung Kulon National Park.
Methods
Study area
Our study area was located in
Ujung Kulon National Park (UKNP) in southwestern
Java, Indonesia (Figure 1). We conducted long-term camera-trap surveys in the peninsula of UKNP (323
km2). The park biota is a tropical rainforest that has experienced
various natural and anthropogenic disturbances in the past and present. The
destructive tsunami in 1883 and landslides in 2018 in the Sunda
Strait have caused secondary growth of biota in the Park. The UKNP contains the
last known population of Javan Rhinoceros Rhinoceros
sondaicus sondaicus.
The UKNP also contains only one other large-sized ungulate, the Banteng, as well as small- to medium-sized ungulates such
as Java Mouse-deer Tragulus javanicus, Javan Warty Pig Sus
verrucosus, Eurasian Wild Pig Sus
scrofa, Red Muntjac Muntiacus
muntjak, and Javan Deer Rusa
timorensis. Large carnivores present in UKNP
include the Javan Leopard Panthera pardus melas and Dhole
(Rahman et al. 2018, 2020).
Field methods
The sampling effort was 39,420
trap days with a grid of 329 1-km2 trap stations. We placed 108
camera units into 134 trap stations, with 0.3–0.5 km between stations, and ran
them from January to December 2013. We used two models of camera traps—Bushnell
Trophy Cam 119467 and Bushnell Trophy Cam 119405. At each station, we placed
single camera and at approximately 170 cm height from ground level with a 10–20
degree angle directed towards the ground (the cameras were set at 1-minute
video mode with 1-minute intervals). We checked camera traps every 28–30 days
to avoid data loss due to possible camera malfunction and battery and memory
card depletion. We moved the camera traps within the same grid when they did
not capture any animal (zero presence) after two or three checking. Sequential
frames of the same species were counted as an independent photographic event if
they were >30 minute apart. We recorded 607 independent photographs of
Dholes during a survey period. We used latitude and longitude information
converted into digital data in GIS using the ArcMap program to map each
photograph location.
Results
On 28 May 2013 at 0743–0757 h, a
camera recorded a young Banteng, accompanied by three
adult females, attacked and preyed upon by more than 15 adult Dholes (Image 1).
On 24 September 2013 at 1700–1712 h, another camera recorded more than six
adult Dholes trying to kill a young Banteng
(accompanied by 3 adult females) in the same pattern as before (Image 2). The
only other video of Dhole-ungulate interactions was of a Java Mouse-deer being
chased by five adult Dholes on 18 April at 1216 h, a wild pig attacked by two
adult Dholes on 15 October at 1110 h, and one adult male Javan Rhinoceros being
followed by three adult Dholes on 31 July at 1643 h (Image 3).
Discussion
These photographs indicate that
Dholes are capable of predating on large-sized ungulates such a Banteng, although probably mostly young of this species. A
review of Dhole diets showed that their preferred weight range is 130–190 kg,
and that the two most preferred species are Sambar and Chital (Hayward et al.
2014). These results are supported by research in India, such as in Nagarahole, which found Dholes usually prefer medium-sized
prey (Karanth & Sunquist
2000), such as Chital Deer Axis axis and
Sambar Deer Rusa unicolor (Karanth & Sunquist 1995). In
India, Dholes were occationaly found to consume Gaur Bos
gaurus, a large-sized ungulate (Johnsingh 1983; Karanth & Sunquist 1995; Hayward et al. 2014), indicating large-sized
ungulates are not common prey of Dholes in India. In Bhutan and Laos, Dholes
were found to prey mostly on both medium and small-sized ungulates (Wang &
Macdonald 2009; Thinley et al. 2011; Kamler et al. 2012). In Cambodia, although Dholes preferred
Muntjac, a small-sized ungulate, they also regularly consumed Banteng (18% of diet), indicating Dholes are capable of
sometimes preying on large-sized ungulates (Kamler et
al. 2020). Similary, in Baluran
National Park, East Java, Dholes were found to consume mostly large-sized
ungulates including Banteng and Water Buffalo Bubalus bubalis (Nurvianto et al. 2016). Thus, Dholes in Indonesia and other
areas of southeastern Asia might be more likely to prey on large-sized
ungulates compared to Dholes in India, where medium-sized ungulates are more
common.
Dholes may hunt alone, in pairs
or large packs (Cohen 1977; Venkataraman et al. 1995), and we recorded similar
group sizes in UKNP. Previous studies have shown that larger pack sizes of
Dholes take larger prey (Hayward et al. 2014; Kamler
et al. 2020), and our photographs supported this conclusion because a pack of
at least 15 Dholes were involved in the predation event on the young Banteng. Previous researchers have reported that Dholes
attack young of Banteng, Gaur, and Water Buffalo by
chasing the herds and separating calves from their mothers (Krishnan 1972;
Prater 1980). In our case, the Dhole pack attacked the calf while it was still
next to its presumed mother, although during the attack the Dholes appeared to
try and separate the young from its mother. A throat injury tyipcally
is not part of a Dhole hunting technique (Johnsingh
1983), although in our case a Dhole first grabbed the young Banteng
by the throat in an attempt to bring it to the ground. The estimated time of
the predation event (from contact to killing) was approximately 14 minutes.
Although three Dholes were
photographed following an adult male Javan Rhinoceros, this probably was not a
predation attempt. Firstly, adult male Javan Rhinoceros’ weigh approximately
1,000–2,000 kg, which is far outside of accessible prey range for Dholes
(30–235 kg; Hayward et al. 2014). Secondly, only three Dholes were following
the Rhinoceros, suggesting the pack size was not large enough to successfully
attack such a large-sized prey. It is unclear why the three Dholes appeared to
be following the male Rhinoceros, but perhaps they were escorting the
Rhinoceros away from their young pups or den site. Our frame shows results in
line that Dhole activity in denning increases at dawn and dusk.
In summary, we provide the first
photographic evidence of a predation on Banteng by
Dholes. Although previous studies found that Dholes regularly consumed Banteng in Cambodia (Kamler et
al. 2020) and East Java (Nurvianto et al. 2016),
their predatory behavior towards Banteng had never
been photographed. These photographs suggests that Dholes get in large packs to
predate on Banteng and separate young from adults
when attacking the young. We do not know the Dhole diet in UKNP, nor do we know
the impact of Dhole predation on the local Banteng
population. Since both are threatened species, to protect potentially impacted
resources, understanding the dynamics of destructive species can lead to more
efficient and effective strategies (e.g., Knowlton et al. 1999). Just because a
predator is identified as harming an endangered species, managing predators
does not guarantee to help the conservation of an endangered prey to be more
effective, efficient or cost-effective. A thorough understanding of when and
why predation occurs and the conditions that make endangered prey most
susceptible to predation is necessary for predator management by UKNP managers.
The mitigation program in the future can be carried out by the manager by
optimizing the management of predators during the state of greatest
vulnerability of endangered prey and maximizing the conservation benefit-cost
ratio in species management.
For
figure & images - - click here
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